Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,576 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $271.23 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $235.40 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.